Automatic calendar



Nov. 23 1926.

H. RUFF AUTOMATIC CALENDAR Filed Nov. 21, 1924 Sheets-Sheet l MONDAYATTORNEYS.

AUTOMATIC CALENDAR Filed Nov. 21, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 XTTORNEYS'\Patented Nov. 23, 1926.

imazh V HERBERT RUFF, OF COLLINGSWOOD, NEW JERSEY. v

AUTOMATIC CALENDAR.

Application filed November 21, 1924:. Serial No. ?51,207. I

My invention relates to a new and useful clock controlled automaticcalendar, adapted to show the correct date throughout the year, andadapted to change of the calendar face automatically every twenty fourhours, and to effect such change in the calendar face reading, in arelatively short space oftime, namely in a few seconds.

My invention relates more particularly to a. clock controlled automaticcalendar of the character stated above, which effects a substantiallyinstantaneous change in the calendar face, every twenty four hours,efiecting such change moreover always at the same particular instantduring each succeeding twenty four hours, said changing instant beingpreferably 12 o clock midnight; yinvention further relates to anautomatic calendar which may be readily adapted to any common type ofclock so that the automatic change of the calendar face will becontrolled by the spindle or sleeve of the hour hand of the clock,without any more attention than is required by the ordinary' eight dayclock.

My invention further relates to a clock controlled automatic calendarwhich will indicate the regular sequence of days throughout any givenyear, with unvarying exactness and regardless of the irregularit causedby varying number of days in the (lif ferent months, or in a leap year.-

iVith the above ends in View my invention consists of a novel calendarroll; comprising a continuous strip of some fiexible material. such aspaper and the like,.having printed on one side thereof in regularsequence, a series of indica ndicatve of each successve day of aparticular year, and wound onto a roller or spindle.

My invention further consists of a series of setting' or aligningapertures in said continuous calendar strip, properly located withrespect to the successive calendar faces or indieia, and adapted toefi'ect an accurate alignment of each of said successive calendarindicia with the calendar opening or window of the housing.

Mv invention further consists of a novel winding or reeling mechanismfor said calendar roll, adapted tounwind said roll from its spndle,means to normally reta'in said winding mechanism inoperative, clockcontrolled means to release said winding mechansn, and a stop mechanismregistering and cooperating with said setting or aligning apertures inthe calendar strip, for stopping the calendar strip as it is beingunw-ound, so as to accurately align the next succeeding calendar indiciaon said paper roll, with the calendar opening or window in the housing.

For the purpose of illustrating my invention, I have shown in theaccompanying drawings forms thereof which are at present preferred byme, since they have been found in practice to give satisfactory andreliable results, although it is to be understood that the variousinstrumentalities of which my invention consists can be variouslyarranged and organized and that my invention is not limited to theprecise arrangement and organization of these instrumentalities asherein shown and described' F ig. l represents a front elevation of aclock controlled automatic calendar, embodying my invention, andincluding a conventional clock for controlling the same.

Fig. 2 represents a section (l line 2-2 of I Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 represents a front elevation the housing removed or omitted so asto expose to View the various mechanisms.

Fig. 4 represents a perspective View on an enlarged scale of thereleasing and stopping mechanism.

Fig. 5 represents a section on line 5-5 of F ig. 4.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts.

Referring to the drawings:-

1 designates my novel continuous calendar strip issuing from the roll 2,from which it is unwound periodically and intermittently every twentyfour hours throughout the year. The calendar roll 2 on the spindle orroller 3, is pivotally and rotatably mounted in the frame members 4 and5, at its two ends respectively, and the calendar strip- 1, passes overtwo vertically aligned horizontal guide lOO rollers 6 and 7, alsorotatably mounted in the end plates or frames 4 and 5, and free torotate. After passing over the two idler guide rollers 6 and 7, thestrip 1 passes onto the receiving roller 8, at the lower portion of themachine, to which receiving roller 8, the driving power is applied, soas to cause the same to draw the calendar strip 1 from the deliveringroller 3, over the two idler guide rollers 6 and 7 respectively, bypassing a portion of said calendar str1p 1 back of the front wall 9 ofthe housing, and parallel thereto, so as to exposeto View a portionthereof, through the calendar opening or window 1.0. The calendar strip1, has printed thereon a series of successive indicia, preferablyequally spaced with respect to each other indicatve of each day of anyparticular year, arranged in the chronological sequence of such days,beginning with the outer end of the calendar roll 2, and ending. at theinner end of said calendar roll 2, and thus providing independentcomplete calendar faces along such strip, as illustrated by the calendarface of Monday, January lst shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The receiving roller8, mounted on the spindle or shaft 11, is actuated and driven through atrain of gears 12, 13, 14 and 15, by a flat coil spring 16 of the typecommonly used in clocks, said gears being rotatably mounted on parallelspindles or shafts 17 and 18 on the hearing plates 'or frame plates 5and 19.

In order to retain the receiving roller inoperative, against thetendency of the driving spring 16 to rotate the same, through the trainof speed change gears 12, 13, 14 and 15 as mentioned above I provide aratchet wheel 20 on the receiving roller shaft 11, fiXedly Securedthereto, and a pawl 21 pivoted at 22, and in operative alignment withthe teeth 23 of said ratchet wheel. Thus, so long as the pawl 21 is inengagement with the teeth 23 of the ratchet wheel 20, the receivingroller 8 will 'remain inoperative against the torque produced upon it bythe spring 16, thereby retaining a particular portion of the calendarstrip 1 motionless behind the calendar opening or window 10.

In order to release the pawl 21 periodically at a pr'edeterninedinstant, namely at 12 o clock m-dnight, I provide a novel releasenechanism cooperating with said paWl, and cooperating with andcontrolled by the clock 24, indicated in Outline in the Figs. 1, 2, and3 having the hour hand spindle or sleeve 25 thereof shown in detail, Therelease mechanism consists of two vertical and overlapping flat releasebars 26 and 27 respectively, joined together at their overlapping ends,by the two studs 28 and 29 fixed to the bars 26 and 27 respectively, andsliding freely in the elongated openings 29 and 30 in the correspondingportions of the bars 27 and 26 respectively, thereby permitting a slightand predetermined amount of longitudinal overlapping movement of therelease bars 26 and 27 with respect to each other. The release bar 27 ispivotally secured to the pawl arm 31 at a point 32, while the releasebar 26, is pivotally Secured at its upper end 33, to one side of arocker arm 34, pivoted at 35. A gear 36 is Secured to the hour handspindle or sleeve 25, of the clock 24, and asecond gear 37, havingexactly twice the number of teeth on the gear 36, is rotatably mountedon the shaft 38 and is in mesh with the gear 36. The release cam 39 isfixed to the gear 37 and is in operative alignment with a follower end40, of the arm 41 of the belt crank lever 34 pivoted at 35. The cam 39is provided along its outer periphery with a gradual rise from a zeropoint or position 42, to a peakl point 43, from whence it takes anabrupt'drop to the zero point 42. The helical tension spring 44, actingon the arm 34, constantly urges the follower against periphery of thecam 39, and also urges the release bar 26 downwardly. The release bars26 and 27 are provided with corresponding elongated openings 45. Therelease bar 26 oarries a latch 46 hingedly secured thereto at a point 47on the hinge 48, said latch passing through the elongated openings inboth bars 26 and 27, and adapted to swing into said elongated 'opening45, due to gravity on said latch 46. The lower edge 49 of the elongatedopening 45 in the release bar 27, however, is so located with respect tothe pivot 47 and the lower edge 50 of the latch, as to permit said latchto fall into said elongated opening 45, only when the rod 26 is in itsuppermost position with respect to the rod 27. Thus as the hour hand 51makes two complete revolutions, namely records 24 hours; the gear 37,and hence the cam 39 makes one complete'revolution, namely moves fromthe zero point 42 on said cam, to the peak point 43, it forces down thefollower point 40 against 'the tension of 'the spring 44, therebyraising the release bar 26 from the lower position to its uppermostposition with respect to the release bar 27, and thereby pernitting thelatch 46 to fall into the opening 45 of the vertical release bar 27.When in this position, the lower edge 50 of the latch 46 being inalignnient with the lower edge 49 of the slot 45 in the release bar27,will prevent an tweemt ie two release bars 26 and 27, when the bar 26is again lowered Thus at the instant of 12 o clock nidnight When thepeak point 43 passes the follower 40, said follower, urged by the spring44, rises abruptly to the zero point 42 of the cam 39, thereby forcingthe release bar 26 downwardly, with the force of said spring 44. Sinceno relative or overlapping movement is then possible between the tworelease bars 26 and relative overlapping movement be- 1.

lOO

ocaaa the roller 2, so as to bring a new portion of said strip intoalignment with the calendar window 10, in the front wall 9 of thecalendar housing.

In order to prevent the strip 1 from unwinding entirely and also to stopthe reeling action of the roller 8, after an exact length of the strip 1corresponding to one date, has been unwound, and so as to accuratelyalign the succeeding indicia on said strip,

with the calendar window 10, I provide a novel looking mechanismcooperating with said release mechanism and said reeling or windngmechanism described hereinbefore, and controlled or governed by a seriesof setting or aligning openings or apertures 53 along one edge of thecalendar strip 1, hidden from view by the frontwall 9 of the housing, soas to be invisible 'from without. The apertures 53 in the calendar strip1 are properly located with respect to each of the calendar indica alongthe length of the calendar strip'. The arm or finger 54 is mounted on apivot 55, so as to be in alignment with said apertures 53, and is of alength sufiicient to extend into said apertures when such apertures arebrought into alignment therewith. A second arm 56, carrying a springlatch 57, is also Secured to the pivot 55, so as 'to form a bell cranklever in combination with the first arm 54. The spring latch 57, bestillustrated in the sectional View in Fig. 5, consists of the triangularlatch block 57 carried by the flat spring 59,

and is in alignment with an offset horizontal projection 58 at the lowerend of the latch 46, when the release bar 26 and hence the latch 46 isin the lowermost position. In the normal stationary position of thecalendar strip 1, shown particularly in Fig. 4, the arm or finger 54urged by the spring 60, projects .into the cor'responding aperture 53 ofthe calendar strip and both of the arms 54 and 56 are thus normally heldin their uppermost position, shown in F igs. 2 and 4, with the springlatch 57 in engagement with the projeotion 58 with the latch 46, so asto retain the same outside ot the elongated opening of the release bar27. ,ll hen, however. the release bar 26 is raised by the cam 29 asdescribed hereinbetore, during a period of twenty-four hours, the latch46 is also raised until the horizontal projection 58 thereof is raisedabove the spring latch 57, thereby permitting said latch 46 to fall intothe elongated opening 45, so as to effect the subsequent releasingaction, bythe interlocking of the two release bars 26 and 27 asdescribed hereinbefore. As the calendar strip 1 moves downwardly in thedirection of the arrow 61 in Fig. 4, having been released by thesimultaneously, downward movement of the release bars 26 and 27, and theupper end of the particular aligning aperture 53, in the calendar strip1, engages the end of the finger or arm 54 and lowcrs the same until thefinger 54 is thus withdrawn from said aperture. strip 1 thereafterretains said finger or arm 54 in this depressed or lowered position. Thedownward movement or lowering of the arm 54, also lowers and` withdrawsthe arm 56, and hence the spring latch 51 carried by said arm 56, so asto move the triangular latch block 57 past the horizontal projection 58of the latch 46; which action is made possible by the yieldable springsupport 59 of said triangular latch block 57. The calendar strip 1continues to move downwardly in the direction of the arrow 61, toi bewound onto .the receiving roller 8, until the next succeedng aperture53, corresponding to the next succeeding calendar indicia onsaidcalendar strip 1, comes into al'ign ment with the end of the arm 54. Atthat instant the end of the arin 54, urged by the 'spring 60, re-entersthe succeeding aperture 53, rasing the arms 54 and 56 into the posi- Thecalendar tion shown in Fig. 4, and thereby causing the A g triangular'spring latch 57 to force and withdraw the latch 46, from lookingengagement with the elongated opening 45 in the release bar 27, therebybreaking the locking action between the two release bars 26 and 27 andpermitting the relative overlapping movement between the two releasebars. The instant the latch 46 is thus withdrawn from looking engagementwith the elongated opening 45 of the bar 27, the bar 27 being tree tomove upwardly relative to the bar 26, rises, due to the force of thespring 62, which is Secured at its upper end to a support 63 fixed tothe release bar 26, and thereby permits said spring 62 to raise the arm31 and move the pawl 21 into operative looking engagement with a tooth20 of the ratchet wheel 23,

so as to lock the reeling mechanism in the v motors' or the like. Thecalendar strip 1 may be made of any suitable fiexible material such aspaper, parchment fabric, oelluloid or the like, and if desired saidstrip may be transparent or translucent. A source of light may be placedback of the calendar strip 1 so as to transmit the light through thetransparent or translucent strip, thereby illuminating calendar face andbringing out the calender indicia in greater contrast.

It Will noW be apparent that I have de- Vised a novel and usefulautomatic calendar which embodies the features of advantage 'enumeratedas desirable in the statement of the invention and the abovedescription, and while I have, in the present instance, shown anddescribed a preferred embodiment thereof which will give in practicesatisfactory and reliable results, it is to be un'derstood that suchembodiment is suscoptible of modification in various particular-sWithout depart-ing from the spirit or scope of theinvention orsacrificing any of its advantages.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new and useful anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is 2- 1. In an automatic calendar, acontinuous flcxible strip. a series ot indca on said strip, indicativeot' the dates, and succeeding each other in chronological sequence, anda series of setting and aligning apertures in said strip, correspondingto and located With respect to said series of indicia.

2. In a device of the character stated, a clock, a calendar roll,reeling mechansm adapted to unwind said calendar roll, means normally toretain said reeling mechanism stationary, means controlled by said clockfor setting said reeling mechanism into motion, a series of setting andaligning apertures in said calendar roll, and a stop mechanismcooperating With said setting and aligning apertures, adapted to arrestthe motion o-f said reeling mechanism.

3. In a device of the character stated` a calendar roll, a receivingroller parall-el thereto for uwinding said calendar roll, means toimpart a driving torque to said receiving roller, a ratchet wheelcarried by said receiving roller, a pivotally supported pawl inoperative alignment with said ratchet wheel, a means urging said pawlinto engagement With said ratchet wheel, a lower releasing bar pivotedto the end of said pawl, au upper releasing bar overlapping said lowerrelease bar and slidably secured thereto, a pivoted rocker arm havingone arm thereof in operative engagement With the upper end of said upperrelease bar, a cam adapted to engage said rocker arm to therebygradually raise said upper release bar during an extended period oftime, and to abruptly lower the same at a predetermined instant, meansintermediate said cam and the spindle of the hour hand of said clock forrevolving said -cam one revolution during every twenty four hours, and ameans urging.said arm against said cam and hence urging said upperrelease rod downwardly.

4. In a device of the character stated, a receiving roller, means toexert a constant torque on said roller, a ratchet wheel carried by saidroller, a pivoted looking pawl in operative alignment with said ratchetwheel, means urging said pawl into engagement with said ratchet wheel,lower and upper release bars having their ends overlapping and slidablysecured to each other, elongated openings through saidbars, a latchhingedly secured to the upper release bar and extending through saidelongated openings and tending to gravtate into said elongated openingin the lower release bar, an aligning finger, and a spring latchsupported on a common pivot, a calendar roll, a calendar strip issuingfrom said roll and a series of aligning apertures in said calenlar stripin alignment With said finger, adapted to actuate said spring latch byengagement with said finger so as to withdraw the gravity latch from theelongated opening.

5. In a device of the character described, an upper and a lower release.bar having their ends overlappcd and slidably secured to each other, agravity latch hingedly carried by the upper release bar, an alignngfinger and spring latch carried by a common pivot, a horizontalprojection carried by said gravity latch, in alignment with said springlatch in the lowermost position of the upper release bar.

6. In a device of the character described, a reeling roller, means toexert a constant torque on' said roller, a ratchet wheel carried by saidroller, a pivoted locking pawl in operative alignment With said ratchetwheel, means urging said pawl into looking engagement with said ratchetwheel, release bars having their ends overlapping and slidably securedto each other, a latch carried by one of said release bars, meanscarried by the other release bar for engaging said latch so as to locksaid release bars against any relative overlapping movement, an aligningand setting finger and a spring latch carried by a common support, acalendar strip, a series of aligning and setting apertures in saidcalendar strip in alignment With said finger, adapted to actuate saidspring latch by engagement with said finger s as to throw said firstlatch out of looking engagement with respect to the retion, a series ofpositively interengaging, 10

setting and aligning means on said calendar roll, and a stop mechansmcoactng with sad series of setting and aligning means .by a positiventerengagement therewith,

adapted to arrest the motion of said reelng 15 mechansm.

HERBERT RUFF.

